Pit Crew Member Offers Advice on Getting Prepped for NASCAR

1382041921Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work on a pit crew in any of the NASCAR traveling series? There are pit crew schools available to teach you the skills you need to be a part of a championship team.

The XCalibur Pit School in Mooresville, North Carolina is one such place and co-owner Colin Fambrough said they teach you all the techniques you need to know.

“We give each student the basic knowledge of what it means to be a pit crew member,” Fambrough explained. “We teach them the choreography of pit road – the movements of getting in and around the car and what the specific jobs are. We teach them about the equipment they’re going to use from the jacks to the air guns to the gas cans to what they’re going to need to know about the race cars themselves as it relates to pit stops.”

There are six main pit crew members that service a race car during a pit stop.

“The tire changer is going to have the air gun and they knock the lug nuts off and tighten the lug nuts when the new tire goes on. The tire carrier is going to be the person that goes over the wall and actually hangs the tire on the car. The jack man has the 35-pound hydraulic jack that jacks the car up on both sides. The gas man, or fueler, obviously adds fuel to the car.”

Fambrough has worked as a pit crew member for nine years and currently works as a tire changer for Brad Keselowski’s Penske Racing team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He has worked for other teams as well and has pitted cars for some of the sport’s most demanding drivers.

“Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Brad Keselowski…I’ve worked with a lot of them. They’re very good at what they do and they expect the guys around them to be very good at what they do also. There’s a big level of expectation that comes with working for a big-name, high-profile driver.”

There are quite a few local students who participate in the auto tech program at the SCILL Center and who are learning a lot about the way the engineering works behind the steering wheel. Fambrough recommends working hard to get to where you want to be, especially when it comes to NASCAR.

“You have to be dedicated to it and you have to understand that it can take time. You have to be determined to be able to do it because there are a lot of guys that come from all over the country that want to be a part of the sport. Being at the top of your class or getting the best grades or scores that you can get is very important. Being presentable and professional is also very important.”

If you would like more information, visit their website at or call (704) 302-3199.